Most of us spend a lot of time worrying
about other people. Most of the
time it’s out of a sense of genuine care
and responsibility. Sometimes it can be
a misplaced resentment of what other
people seem to have that we don’t.
We’re not worrying about them as
much as we are worrying about ourselves.
Sometimes it’s because we don’t
want to look at our own problems and
the places where we need to move on.

Worrying is natural. Letting that
concern take over our lives can be a
problem. This is especially the case
when we don’t want to do anything to
alleviate the things we’re worried
about. We simply want to stay stuck in
the anxiety and the fretting. Taking
action can be difficult and can make
demands on us that we’d rather avoid.
So we convince ourselves that the fussing
itself is our occupation.

Today’s lectionary readings offer us a
way to cut through some of this static
that worry can cause. In today’s
Gospel, several people express an
interest in following Jesus, but in
response to his invitation they offer a
variety of reasons why they can’t
respond “just yet.” How we interpret
these responses may tell us something
about which of our own concerns
might be taking up too much psychic
space in our lives.

In contrast to the would-be followers
of Jesus, the first reading tells us the
story of Elisha making the choice to
follow the great prophet Elijah as his
successor. He says farewell to his parents,
he slaughters the oxen he’s been
using to plow the field, he roasts them
over a fire built from the yoke and
plow. He feeds his village and is now
free to follow the prophet.

In this one scene, we see the kind of
decisive response that Jesus asks of his
followers. If we truly want to be his
disciples, then the gospel message
needs to be the most important thing
in our lives. It doesn’t mean we abandon
our other responsibilities. But it
does mean that we don’t let those
responsibilities become excuses for not
living Jesus’ message. We don’t set
aside the demands for justice and truth
in order to get ahead in the workplace.
We don’t let friends and family members
fill our lives with so many mundane
demands for attention that we
have no time for prayer or for Sunday
Mass. We don’t look down on those
who are poor and homeless so that we
can continue to feel comfortable with
our savings accounts and possessions.
More than anything else, we need to
become more attentive to when we’re
making excuses for ourselves or others.

Neither Elijah nor Jesus was willing to
listen to excuses from people who
wanted to follow them half-heartedly
or selfishly. They set the bar as high as
it needed to be in order to ensure that
those who followed knew what was
expected of them.

We all know the saying about not
putting all your eggs in one basket. But
sometimes that’s exactly what you need
to do. Many people want to hedge
their bets. They’re reluctant to make a
commitment. But any successful entrepreneur
will tell you that if you’re not
willing to commit everything you have
to making a great idea a reality will say
that those people will likely fail.

Again and again in our lives, we will
feel a desire to follow Jesus more
devotedly. We need to prepare now to
respond to that call wholeheartedly.